Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]-Chapter 187 - Doom and Gloom

Gabriel

While having his legs back was the single best thing to happen since their return, it didn't stop him from complaining about the aching. After setting off from the new city that he didn't even get to explore, they set a grueling pace.

While he was one of the lucky few to be on horseback, that didn't stop the cramps and soreness from riding for so long. They had spent a month traveling only to rest for not even two days before they were off again.

It was a lot to handle and some were visibly flagging.

He heard whispers about it whenever his family got together to talk strategy without him. Not that he wanted to be involved. He had firmly refused to be a part of their 'Council' for a reason.

He could still share his opinions, and he had, but he didn't have to get filled in for every little detail. If he was being honest, he really didn't care. His focus was on much more important things.

Like magic.

The tutorial had taught him a lot but that was nothing compared to what he knew now. Aunt Rachel had such a wildly different take than he did which only expanded his knowledge further.

While he had focused on creating and manipulating his own Ice, Rachel focused on something different, Mana manipulation. She could pick apart his skills if he didn't try to defend them with startling ease.

It was something he hadn't thought much about before.

His head was in the metaphorical clouds with magic, focusing on all the cool things it could do. Creating new effects on his skills or changing them in subtle ways so they did something else.

Combat was a focus he zoned in on occasionally, but it seemed Rachel spent all her time on that. Knowing how their tutorial was made that unsurprising.

Still, it was nice to get other perspectives and expand his repertoire.

Training with her for nearly a year did wonders for his skill and was the main reason he felt so confident coming along. He wouldn't say he was scared, but it was hard not to feel something knowing they were about to fight a horde of Demons.

The very things games, novels, and nearly everything depicted as evil incarnate. Even knowing that the Race wasn't exactly how it was described didn't help with the feeling.

The things they came across only made him feel worse.

He knew what Demons would do, but it was much different to see it. After following the trail they had for a few days, they began seeing signs of Demonic activity.

Claw marks on trees with lingering Demon traces, water they walked through was tainted. As the signs built up, so did the number of tracks they found. It started with a small group, then a bigger one, then a large one, and then it was too many to count.

As the tracks they found indicated the growing army, so too did the environment reflect that. The taint lingered and with more and more Demons gathering together only made it worse.

If the Demons all died today, the taint would still be around for a while longer. It would take time for nature to defeat before things could get back to normal. Luckily, waiting wasn't the only thing they could do.

While leaving the taint wouldn't do anything too harmful, it was better to cleanse it as they passed. There were skills dedicated to doing so but none had them on the account no one predicting this happening.

They did find out certain affinities worked better than others. Light and Lightning worked best of the ones they had with Nature coming in close behind them.

The books said Holy, or Angelic, affinity worked best but no one had that affinity.

His own Ice affinity worked, but not very well. Surprisingly, it did better than fire which was a shock. Not better than Rachel's Fire, but he suspected a different reason for hers working so well. Dragon-tinted flames weren't to be underestimated. Even the infinitely small Dragon essence hers contained.

Knowing Light worked best, the other City's leader was mostly in charge of cleansing the area they were in. Ashton rode side by side with his brother and Gabriel wasn't far away from them.

They did what they could as they traveled, but it started to become unmanageable as they got closer to their target. Even with it being the end of Spring with Summer right around the corner, leaves were falling off trees and flowers were wilting.

A burnt orange or sickly brown plagued the plants even the atmosphere felt different. Stuffy and unwelcoming almost. When they left the city, the whole procession was in somewhat high spirits, but with what everyone was seeing now, it was getting gloomier.

Walking through days of Doom and Gloom ruined morale.

Still, Chris and the other City's leader forged ahead.

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Gabriel suspected his brother wasn't even phased over such a thing as his face showed no emotion. Ever since they had left something was different about him. He didn't talk as much and it was like a reversion to when they met after the tutorial.

Not quite as bad, but it was still a noticeable change.

There wasn't a right time to ask him about it as he was always busy with something. Either planning, ordering people around, talking with the trackers, discussing things with the other City Lord, or even smithing sometimes.

Not many who volunteered to fight were crafting-oriented which left the repairs and servicing of weapons and armor to those who had the profession, Chris included.

With all of that going on while also traveling for hours every day, it wasn't like Gabriel could walk up and talk with him about it, even if he wanted to.

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As the days passed, the area only got worse. At the rate it was declining, it would take years for nature to reclaim if left alone.

Chris

They were getting close.

Dead trees marred the area, leafless and bare. Anything green had died long ago and they hadn't seen a beast, a regular-untainted- beast, in days.

All the trackers they had said they were close.

Night watches were doubled and then increased again. Their time spent traveling was decreased as well. They didn't want to run into the enemy while tired from a full-day march.

Scouts they sent ahead weren't willing to venture too far and the tension in the air made people increasingly on edge. It was even worse than their attack on the 'Mindbreaker.'

The detrimental effect of the gloomy atmosphere had gotten worse the longer they had to travel through it. The Demonic taint in the air tried to wriggle in and pervade your body.

It took constant attention to ward it off. The more powerful had it easier but it was still a constant annoyance to deal with. Everything was adding up to make our trek miserable.

With every step forward, it only got worse. Demonic beasts became common and even demonic plants started popping up. Even knowing that some could be used as rare ingredients didn't help.

Chatter quieted and laughter was thoroughly gone.

It was almost a relief when we got word from the scouts.

We had caught up to the demons.

Action immediately broke out as our plans were put into motion. All the scouts were tasked with getting a number and average strength assessment while the rest of the army did whatever they needed to do to prepare.

Dusk was just off the horizon which set the battle to take place the following day. Demons didn't get any special powers at night but they didn't have the same disadvantages as we did.

They could see just fine in the dark while we were without such an ability. There were some out there with either the skill or bloodline to help them do just that, but the majority of our army didn't.

Plus, a night battle would be a nightmare to direct.

While the scouts were off getting us a better picture of what we were dealing with, everyone settled in for one final rest. Tension and worry were at an all-time high.

Camps without any fire were bad enough, but it was even worse than that as we sat on the eve of what would be some people's first real fight.

Even I felt the jitters and this was far from my first time.

Abigail

"Do you think they've found them yet?" Jon asked.

The question was one she was asking herself constantly. Ever since half their city left, things had been quiet. Losing that many people was bound to do that but even the ones who stayed were quieter than usual.

All of them knew that not everyone would make it back.

Nearly two months had passed since Chris set out and it only got harder as the days went on. She tried to keep busy as best she could but it was hard.

Even the monthly wave went by with little fanfare. Jon had stepped up big again and even though it hurt to see him in such danger, it was nice to know their survival didn't depend on one man alone.

"I don't know, honey," She said, "Even if they have, we won't know until they come back and that will take another month just to get here."

A sigh of frustration came out and she couldn't help but feel dejected.

The thing she missed most from before was being able to talk long distances with one another. That way, they would have been able to keep in touch no matter how far away her family went.

But that wasn't a thing yet. They knew of communication devices that functioned similarly but they couldn't figure out how to make them yet. Chris was their best Enchanter and he spent all of his time on Wards, not communication devices.

The Enchanters they did have were still working on various things but it would be a while until the quality of life they once had was returned to them.

Hot water, hell, running water would be helpful. She could technically make water through her affinity but conjured water wasn't the same as actual water. It didn't have the same minerals or makeup which made it not a good idea to drink or ingest.

Similar to how pure water wasn't good for you.

Her books spoke of Water Crystals being able to draw water out of the air but they didn't have anything like that. Neither of the dungeons around them dropped Gems or Crystals which made acquiring them nearly impossible.

To do so, they would either have to venture out in search, find them in a different dungeon farther away, or buy them from the shop. The last option was the furthest from happening because any city that would sell them would have the same need for them as she did.

Still, even with Jon in here to comfort her and her mind trying to run through the treasury reports, it wasn't enough to stop her from thinking about what was going on elsewhere.

The report wasn't that important, even if it did show a downtick in sales they had through their pylon. With half the people gone, mostly the citizens who delved into the dungeons every day, they didn't have as much to put up for sale.

The material coming out of the dungeon nearly fell to zero after the army left.

Their tax money fell with it but they had enough stored to make it until Chris came back. His delves raked in the coins as he was one of the only ones going through both entire dungeons every day.

No one else could claim to do the same. Not alone at least.

She knew Jon tried but he wasn't geared for such a thing. His defense would see him through the lowest levels of both dungeons but he didn't have the offensive power to kill the things.

Both dungeons were growing nicely though, if what little her books said about such a thing. Without a Curator it was difficult to tell, but the mana they sucked in grew with every passing day.

While both had eight floors currently, she hoped one would reach the ninth soon. Not only would it help with the growth of the city, but it would also add an entire new floor for better materials to come out of.

She tried to get everyone to keep track of what they pulled out of specific floors to keep a spreadsheet running. Every floor down was a marked increase in value. Obvious, but it felt good to get specific numbers to back that up.

Gaining a Ninth floor would increase their profits by over 10% even with only the few who could clear it.

Ah, there her mind went off in an entirely different direction.

She huffed and got back on track. She would make sure they came back to an even better city they left.